Always Just The Friend
by Larsie
Summary: An amusement park date, two exlovers and the “friend.” What’s in store for Ichigo and Ryou’s relationship? May be RyouxIchigo or just a depressing oneshot. You tell me what you want everyone.


An amusement park date, two ex-lovers and the "friend." What's in store for Ichigo and Ryou's relationship?

This may seem a bit OOC, but I'm pissed at a boy and … this is kind of my feelings put into a different scenario. It's just what really might go through Ichigo's head.

I was going to make this a one-shot with some RyouxIchigo fluff towards the end, but I ended with drama and if you want to have a more pleasant RyouxIchigo ending, then please leave a review asking for one.

I'm having a bit of trouble thinking up an ending because I don't want it to be cliché, but I'll do my best if you guys want a RyouxIchigo ending.

Love you all

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She was clinging to him. While he was driving the car she was clinging to his arm reminiscing about their past. And I just sat there with a pain filled heart wanting to rip her pretty bleached-blonde locks out.

"Oh, Ryou this is where we had our first date," she kept repeating. "Oh Ryou, the few years we've been apart and you've just gotten even more handsome!" 'Kay, time to shut up sweetheart.

I guess I'm just bitter. His ex-girlfriend, whose name is Akane by the way, is possibly even more beautiful than Zakuro— and Zakuro is pretty hard to beat in the looks department. I swear, this girl is the next: **Tokyo's Top Model.**

Bleached blonde hair (though, she could pull off the "fake" look), sparkling amethyst eyes, and killer body. That made up Akane.

And then there's me: **boring, plain** **Ichigo.** _Too _young for Ryou to even want, _too_ short for him to want, and just _too_ ugly and plain for him to want. I don't know when I first realized I was actually head-over-heels in love with that idiotic, slave-driving boss of mine, but I was. The whole Masaya thing went down hill— he went to study abroad… again and I chose to stay with the Mews. That ended our so-called love.

I think I loved Ryou all along, but was blinded by the fact that Masaya was the Blue Night and I was drawn to the Mew Aqua… that was also Masaya. But I shouldn't dwell on what happened with Masaya or when I realized I was actually into Shirogane-san. I'm hooked and Ryou is now ,my anti-drug— as pathetic as it sounds.

And there goes little Miss Akane again, musing over the past. Sadly, most of the conversation leads back to their first date. Ryou claims not to have lingering feelings for Akane (as I overheard him saying to Keiichiro-sama) but somehow I doubt it.

The extremely depressing part about this is that the relationship that I had with Ryou seemed to be slightly escalating to a more-than-friends one. Maybe it was just in my imagination that the few times (at least three times a week) Ryou had kissed me on the cheek before I left work to go to my home meant something, but… maybe he actually _had_ meant something by them.

_Akane and Ryou laughed as she brought up the time they shared their first kiss and how awkward it had been._

Or so I'd like to think.

Though, I'm sure they were simply friendly gestures or one showing he was beginning to think of me as a sister. I guess a sister was better than nothing. Although it would be slightly creepy because then I would consider him a brother and I'd be madly in love with my brother. Isn't that illegal?

On a more serious note, we're finally pulling up to the amusement park and for the past half hour in that car, I've been restraining myself from gagging this girl and slowly torturing her in grandiose ways until she was dead.

Ryou stepped out of the car after we parked and I just sat there, seeing if he would even notice I was still there now that he had his precious Akane with him. God, now I'm sounding like him and his issues with Aoyama-kun. I never understood why he got so pissed or depressed when Aoyama-kun came into conversation, but I was hoping it was for the same reasons I was pissed and depressed that Akane was here. Because I'm in love.

Well, turns out Ryou did remember I was there and while he let Akane open her own door, he came to the back door to open mine and grabbed my hand to help me out. The thing is, it didn't make me feel good, but it made me feel as if I was just the little sister— the third wheel. The annoying little sibling who was originally invited to go somewhere with the other sibling, but then unwanted (yet still went) when the elder siblings lover could come along.

Now for a quick version of what happened at the carnival. Ryou tried to spend time with me a few times (I think he just felt bad for me…) but then went off with Akane onto rides while I declined and stayed off to have myself a quick minute cry and then using the last two minutes to straighten myself up so it wouldn't look like I had been crying at all.

Well that plan worked for a while. They went on a haunted house roller coaster, some weird twisty ride, and then something called the Zipper, and a bunch of other rides. Then they took pictures together (Ryou asked me if I wanted to get in them, but I didn't want to be the third wheel that butts into everything, so I declined as I had to any offers to go on the rides).

Lastly, we went to eat some carnie-food. Akane and myself sat at a table while Ryou asked what we wanted. The skinny man-stealer only got a soda— no surprise there since she probably doesn't eat and that's how she keeps her flippin' body so … nice.

Shirogane-san turned to me and asked: "Would you like anything Ichigo?"

"No," I replied coldly, shooting him a glare that made his eyes widen before he sadly stalked off to get himself something along with Akane's freaking soda.

"So," Akane twirled a few strands of hair on her pointer, "you're the Ichigo that Ryou told me about." I could feel my heart pounding; what did Ryou say about me? "When I came yesterday," she continued, "he told me about all the girls working at the café, but he seemed to have the most to say about you."

"Let me guess, I'm clumsy, easily startled, and a baka strawberry." I felt like crying in that moment and I wished they were on some ride so I could let the tears that began welling up in my eyes break free from the dam my eyelids created. Akane's response kind of amazed me though.

"Well of course he had his bad things to say, but he said despite it all, you're really sweet. He had more good things to say than bad." And cue the bright smile on the blonde beauty that makes her look even more appealing to the eyes of men (and some women of course).

We sat in silence for a few minutes and I decided to try and break the ice by saying something sweet about her. Nothing to make her get a fat head, but something to maybe get her to speak and let me find a flaw in her that would draw my Ryou away from her. Well not _my Ryou_, but… er… Shirogane-san. Heh… heh.

Of course, I said something that probably would make her get a fat head, but it was the first thing that came to mind! "You should be a model."

He eyes went wide as she queried, "What?"

"I think you should be a model. I mean, you have the body for it and pretty hair and eyes and… you just seem to perfect."

"Aw, well aren't you sweet. Just like Ryou said, I see. Well Ichigo," she pet my head lightly, "You're not half bad yourself. Hmm… and since you're so sweet and I think I can trust you, wanna hear a secret?"

I knew what she was going to say. I was dreading what she was going to say. Regardless, I nodded my head praying to as many different gods as their are flowers that she would not say what I thought she would.

"I'm still in love with Ryou."

I guess the Gods were being a bit lazy that day.

"W-what?" I still felt the pain and surprise although I knew what she would say and have braced myself for it as much as I could in the five seconds between her question, my answer, and her statement.

"I still love him. He's so sweet and handsome."

I lowered my head; I could see Ryou walking back with the food he had gotten only a moment before I did so. "I do too."

"What was that Ichigo?" Either I muttered it way too low or she was enticed by the gorgeous young man walking towards us and zoned out as I said it.

"I said," I cleared my throat and spoke up: "Me too." Akane's jaw dropped. And I read the questions in her eyes; her large, round, stunning eyes. "I love Ryou." He was coming closer, so I stared directly into her eyes, trying to make her see the sorrow swimming in them as I told her something I hoped I wouldn't regret later: "But he doesn't love me back." I laughed a bit. "It's obvious he loves you, so…" I stood and clenched my fists tightly. I turned my back to her and lowered my head again as silent tears slipped down my cheeks: "So I wish you luck with whatever future you both have together. I don't think I belong here though, so tell Ryou I said thanks for taking me and… and I quit."

Ryou had stopped at the table and I knew all he had heard was:_ tell Ryou I said thanks for taking me and… and I quit. _

So before I could hear anything he had to say I took their silent shock as my chance to begin walking and then run when I was far enough that they wouldn't see my running like the pitiful child I was.

I heard Ryou calling my name when I was finally out of sight. No, he wasn't screaming like a mad man searching for his runaway lover ('cause that's certainly not what I was…), but more like a friend wondering why I had said, "I quit", obviously referring to my work as both a Mew Mew and at the café, and why I was leaving.

But I never stopped moving and I finally reached my home. I quickly changed and snuggled into my warm blanket, crying myself into a blissful sleep— which was probably the only thing **"blissful"** about the day.

I guess you can say I'm sick of being **always just the friend...**


End file.
